New Lelouch
by Setsuna F. Satoru
Summary: Something is subtly changed. Lelouch didn't ever leave the empire. After making arrangements for Nunnally, Lelouch began plotting-with the help of Schneizel. This is a Alternative Universe story.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: The end of Code Geass was just so…bad that I had to write this. Not bad as in badly produced, but awful for Lelouch.

Also, this is going to look like I'm just copying exactly what the first episode says, but in reality, that's exactly what I'm doing. See, the first chapter is going to be almost exactly like the first episode of the anime, however, as a whole, the entire story is going to be quite different. I am making some changes in the story for this chapter, but they are subtle and their meaning will only be apparent later on.

Stage 1

The Day a New Demon was Born

[August 10, 2010 a.t.b.]

The door opens and a small figure, wrapped in silk and finery, enters the palace.

It is Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh Prince to the Royal Throne.

Whispers travel across the hall.

"Terrorists killed his mother."

"Nonsense, she was in the palace, _terrorists_ couldn't have gotten to her" "She was just a commoner"

"Without her support, the Ashford family has little power"

"And without the support of the Ashfords, he has no hope of claiming the throne"

"Why is he even here, then?"

"I heard his sister was paralyzed from the waist down."

"So she can't even be married off to a more powerful family?"

The young prince remains standing, dignified, appearing entirely unaffected by the malicious stares some are giving him.

As he reaches the throne, he stops.

"Father," he pleads, "my mother is dead."

The Emperor considers him. "What of it?"

The boy's face twists with indignation. "What of it? You're the most powerful man in the world and you couldn't protect her? You never even visit Nunnally!"

The Emperor stands and steps forward menacingly. The boy stumbles back and falls.

"That blinded and crippled weakling? She is of no use to me. That is what it means to be in the Royal family! There is no room for weaklings like her. Go, I have more important matters to deal with!"

The Eleventh Prince is silent for a moment; his face is distorted with rage. But something makes him stop. He pauses a moment, considers.

There is a feeling of fate and destiny, of something fundamentally changing as he stands and utters the words, "Yes, your highness."

He turns and calmly walks out the doors he entered. As soon as they close behind him, he breaks out into a run.

[August 10, 2017 a.t.b.]

The Tokyo settlement: a helicopter is following a truck along busy streets, cutting through the mass of mirror-faced skyscrapers. The pilot touches his headset.

"We need some ground reinforcements. They're heading to the Shinjuku tunnel."

The scene changes. There are reports of a terrorist attack in Osaka. Footage is shown.

This is the residence of Baron Whiteman. The television is in a small room, sparsely furnished; just a sofa and a leather chair on either side of a small table, and the stand that the television is sitting on. Everything in the room, though, looks luxurious and expensive.

There are guards standing. At the aforementioned table is a chessboard. The Baron is playing a man who owes him, the stakes being the debt in question. Behind the Baron is huge window, giving a view over the entire settlement. Behind the other man—a common costume designer—is an elevator.

An alarm goes off. The commoner looks up desperately. The Baron merely smiles.

"You must now make a move every twenty seconds." One of the guards informs the older man.

"You better hope that substitute you were talking about gets here soon." The Baron says. "In twenty seconds, to be exact." He laughs cruelly.

Just as he says this, the elevator's doors open. Two boys walk out. Both are wearing the uniform of a nearby private high school.

The one in front has black hair and disturbing, violet eyes. The other is has blue hair.

"You are, I see, an _esteemed_ nobleman of our great society." The boy with purple eyes says dryly.

The Baron merely laughs. "This is your substitute? Merely a high school student? Ha! What is your name, little boy?"

The boy appears unaffected by his taunts. "I am Lelouch Lamperouge."

His companion looks down at the board, studying his friend's position. "Look at that! You can't possibly win like that!" he remarks to the black haired boy.

The boy appears unconcerned. "Rivalz, how long until our next class?"

The blue haired boy glances at his phone. "About eleven minutes."

The boy called Lelouch nods. "I'll only need nine."

The Baron looks offended by this last remark, but says nothing. Lelouch reaches down and picks up the black king.

The Baron laughs. "The black king? You're leading your move with the black king?"

Lelouch still appears unruffled. "If the king doesn't lead, how can he expect his soldiers to follow?"

A new scene. Three girls are sitting in a circle, in what appears to be a garden, eating ice cream. They are all wearing uniforms. Around them, students wearing the same uniform are playing. The boys' uniform is the same as the one the boys in the skyscraper wore.

"Where's Lulu?" This is from the one with straight, orange hair.

"Out gambling again." The reply comes from the tall one, with flowing blond hair.

"They don't really act like student council members." This is barely above a whisper, spoken by the girl with dark green hair, woven into a single braid in the back.

"What is it this time? Poker?" the orange haired girl asks.

"They use real money, too, you know." The blond one says.

"Lulu really is smart you know, he just doesn't apply himself right. If he would just study, he could get the best grades in the school!"

The blond one smiles and says teasingly, "Oh, our little Lulu's as serious as they come. How cute!"

"Prez…" the girl with the orange hair replies, annoyed at being teased.

The setting changes again. The interior of the truck that was being followed. A man and a woman are driving it, but the only thing visible under their hats is the color of their hair. The man has long black hair, and the girl wispy red.

"Shit!" exclaims the man. "We finally pull this off and that damn Damakin doesn't act according to plan!"

They are still being trailed by the helicopter.

Back to the Baron's tower. The two boys are leaving the tower. The blue haired one—Rivalz—is commenting to Lelouch.

"Man, noblemen are great! They have so much pride they can't bear not to pay up! You did that in record time, too! Only eight minutes and thirty-two seconds!"

The boy called Lelouch replies calmly. "My opponent didn't have much time, either. Besides, these noblemen are all so soft. They're like parasites, living off the rest of us."

Rivalz runs ahead of his friend. "Well, if Britannians are so easy, then why don't you try facing Elevens? Unlike us…" He stops as they leave the building, noticing the huge screen across the street. It is showing the attack on Osaka. Smoke billows from a tower, remains from the bomb that went off there.

"That's terrible…" Rivalz says sadly, "All those innocent people… The Elevens are awful…"

A voice comes from the screen as the image is replaced with the Britannian Flag.

"We apologize for the delay. This is announcement from his highness Prince Clovis, third in line for the imperial throne."

Rivalz doesn't notice as Lelouch's expression hardens.

The fair face of the Third Prince appears on the screen.

"My friends and fellow citizens of Britannia," he says grandiosely, "and of course, the many, many Elevens who choose to aid our glorious Empire,"

A flash to the girl in the truck.

"We're not Elevens, we're Japanese!" she exclaims to the screen.

The Third Prince clutches his chest, in a melodramatic pose of agony. "Do you understand? I am torn in two! Part of me is sad, yet the other part is enraged! I—the Viceroy of Area 11—must stand firm against these terrorists!" He appears to be greatly troubled by this need. "This is a battle for justice! For justice and the welfare of all people! Now, my friends, let us offer a prayer for those we have lost. A moment of silence for those defenders of justice who gave their lives to the cause!"

"You going to mourn?" Rivalz asks Lelouch.

"Are you?" Lelouch responds.

"I'd just be embarrassed." Rivalz replies.

"True enough. Besides," Lelouch responds lightly, "our tears aren't going to bring them back to life. It is just a matter of self-satisfaction."

"Oh," Rivalz teases. "So cold."

In the throne room of the Third Prince, the light of the camera goes off.

There is a smattering of applause from the court.

"Amazing"

"No one would guess that you were only moments ago enjoying a party!"

The Third Prince merely brushes it off. "If I couldn't switch demeanors on command, I wouldn't be fit to rule Area 11."

"You're so confident!"

"It is my duty," Clovis replies. "I must present a confident exterior to keep the media happy." He looks to the news station crew.

"Oh, we only wish to aid you in your rule, Your Highness." they grovel.

Off to the side, though, is a man, sulking.

"Damn flag waving patriots." He mutters to himself.

An officer in an impressive cloak strides briskly past him. "Your Highness!" he calls.

"What is this about?" Clovis demands.

"I am deeply sorry, Prince, but…"

The man turns his attention away. "Another petty trouble." He mutters.

"Idiot!" He hears the Third Prince yell. His attention returns.

The soldier looks uncomfortable. "The police believe it's just medical equipment. If we mobilize the entire army—"

"Dispatch the troops. The Knightmares too," the prince screams.

The bustle of feet. Men are arming themselves. Soldiers leap into cockpits. Huge machines power up.

"Level one alert. Level one alert," comes the voice from the loudspeakers. One of the soldiers is a woman with long silver hair. Another is a man with a perfectly groomed, green head of hair. As the cockpits slide into the huge, humanoid mecha, the loudspeaker blares orders.

"Fourth, fifth, and seventh squadrons prepare for action! Squadrons eight and nine remain on standby!"

Lelouch and Rivalz pass under a bridge. Rivalz on a motorcycle, Lelouch riding in the sidecar.

"Hey…" Rivalz begins seriously.

"What?"

"Do you want to become a CEO or something, Lelouch?" Rivalz asks.

Lelouch considers this, then answers cryptically, "Yeah, something like that."

A truck looms up behind them, going a bit too fast. It is, in fact, the truck being driven by the man and the woman.

"What the hell!" Rivalz exclaims, swerving to the left, then to the right.

Inside the truck, the man driving swears too. "Damn leisurely drivers!" He turns sharply to pass them. The girl turns her head.

"No! That's—"

Too late, the driver tries to turn again, but momentum carries him through the construction blocks into the new construction site, throwing up a cloud of dust and bringing the truck to a stop.

Rivalz stops his motorcycle.

"Umm…was that our fault?" he asks nervously, looking at the cloud of dust where the truck wrecked. "No way…"

Lelouch glances up and notices the helicopter.

Inside, the pilot is transmitting. "Central Command! They seem to have crashed into the new VO building!"

A voice comes over the radio. "Wait! This is out of your military jurisdiction. Pull your troops out now."

The pilot is incredulous. "_General_?"

The general is stalking down the corridors of the palace, disturbed by Prince Clovis's response. He must recover it at all costs. He grits his teeth.

"That…" Lelouch mutters to himself, as he notices a strange light emanating from the back of the truck.

As the dust clears, he looks down at it. "What's that?" he wonders out loud.

"Hey, Lelouch," Rivalz calls, "it looks like our power cable is broken."

"Yeah…what's that?" Lelouch repeats.

"Hey, over here!" Someone yells. Lelouch looks. People are crowding around, taking pictures, texting their friends, talking about it.

"What the hell? Was there an accident?"

"Someone should help them…"

Yet no one moves.

_Idiots, all of them._ Lelouch thinks to himself. He sets his helmet in the sidecar and runs to the barrier.

"Hey, wait!" Rivalz calls.

Inside the car, the two drivers blacked out for a moment. The girl with red hair stirs.

Lelouch runs to the truck.

"Hey look, a student's going to help them." One of the bystanders says.

"Someone should call the police or something." Another remarks.

Lelouch hauls pieces of metal off the car. "Hey, are you alright?" he calls to the driver.

When there is no response, he runs around the back and finds a ladder.

Rivalz is walking his bike back to the school, muttering to himself, "Man, what he's doing is right, but I wish he'd stop. He's gonna be late for class, all for his stupid pride.

In the truck, the airbags deflate. The girl is trying to wake her accomplice.

"Nakata. Nakata!" he moves only a little.

Outside, Lelouch climbs up to the roof of the truck.

"Hey, can you hear me?" he calls.

There is a strange…resonance. He hears a girl's disembodied voice. "I've finally found you. My…" The voice fades.

"Where are you?" Lelouch calls. He looks down and sees an open hatch leading inside. "Are you in there?" he leans into the hatch.

The man—Nakata—shifts the gear, only half conscious. Then he stomps on the gas pedal.

The wheels spin, unable to gain any traction for a moment, then the truck pulls back, escaping the crash site. Lelouch lurches and is thrown into the cargo bay of the truck.

He lands deftly. "H-hey, stop!" he calls. No one hears him in the noise.

The truck drives out of the construction landing.

"Wow, a hit-and-run!" someone exclaims.

The truck goes over a bump and Lelouch is thrown into the wall. He looks up

searching the walls. "Damn it," he says, "they should have put a ladder here."

He notices the huge piece of equipment, a giant sphere with strange protrusions in

the center of the truck's bay. He begins to climb it when he hears from a loudspeaker outside, "Surrender! We have you surrounded."

The sound comes from the helicopter, still trailing the truck. Two more join it, and guns extend from the noses. "Stop the vehicle immediately!"

The helicopters fire at the truck, which swerves to avoid the shots, swaying drunkenly this way and that. The drivers are undeterred.

"Our next shot will hit you!" the helicopters blare. "Stop at once!"

Nakata curses. "Damn, the army's here! What're we gonna do?"

The girl throws off her cap to expose a young face, only in high school, possibly. She wears a red headband.

"That's why I'm here!" She responds confidently.

In the back, Lelouch is reconsidering his moves. "It's dangerous to go outside…" he thinks aloud. "This doesn't look good," he concludes.

He reaches to his pocket. "My cell phone…"

The door to the cabin suddenly opens. He ducks behind a support beam. It's the girl. She's unbuttoning her nondescript, white uniform, exposing a red jumpsuit. She's giving instructions to the driver.

"You can get to the subway if you head through the ghetto."

The driver makes a suggestion. "Kallen, let's use it!"

"That would mean a massacre!" she reprimands him.

"Yeah, you're right…" Nakata mutters.

Lelouch's eyes narrow. "That woman…" he whispers.

Rivalz looks around the plaza. "Lelouch," he calls, "where are you? Aren't you coming back to school?"

The pilot of the helicopter continues to report.

"Target is heading south; towards the ghetto."

"Alright," the response comes, "get them!"

"Yes sir!" The gun lowers, aiming directly at the gas tank of the truck.

Suddenly a blade flies from the half-open back of the truck, smashing into the cockpit of the helicopter. It's blown out of the sky, and the blade—attached to a cable—retracts back into the truck.

"Slash Harken?" exclaims the pilot of one of the other helicopters.

The bay door opens, revealing a brown-painted, slightly boxy mecha, the blade sliding back into place in its stomach.

"A Knightmare?" the pilot is astounded.

It leaps out onto the pavement, wheel shafts flying out to catch it. When it lands, it begins driving backwards, covering the truck.

Lelouch runs to the doors just as they close on him, locking him in.

"Shit!" he yells, "They're _real _terrorists!"

The pilot of the Knightmare is the red haired girl—Kallen.

"You know this thing's power pretty well, don't you?" she yells to the military pilots.

She pushes it forward, advancing on the helicopters, dodging their fire. She fires a Slash Harken at the one on the left, then another at the right, bringing both down.

A new aircraft appears carrying purple Knightmares. "I'll take care of this," the Knightmare's pilot says calmly.

"I don't know where you're from," he tells the pilot of the brown Knightmare, "but your outdated Glasgow doesn't stand a chance against my new Sutherland."

Kallen fires a Slash Harken, which the new Knightmare easily deflects with its own. The pilot of the purple Knightmare—the Sutherland—is the green-haired soldier.

"And neither can a damned Eleven, so far removed from His Majesty's plans!"

He aims and fires the Sutherland's gun within seconds, blasting the front of the Glasgow.

"Kallen," Nakata's voice comes from the Glasgow's communication lines, "this guy's good. We can't both die! You try and get away!"

"But—I"

A new Sutherland rolls up a wall, using its wheels, and flips up around the truck, leaving it standing in front of it.

The truck swerves down a side road, escaping it.

The new Knightmare's pilot is the silver-haired woman.

"What a simple man." She says to herself.

Kallen makes to fire a Slash Harken when the Glasgow freezes up.

"Damn!" she screams, "Why now? Second hand crap!"

The green-haired man's Sutherland brings up a hand to smash the Knightmare. At the last moment one of the Glasgow's hands rockets off, slamming into the Sutherland's face, giving enough smoke to allow Kallen to speed off.

The Sutherland's pilot is unconcerned. "Oh ho! Not bad! But…"

Back to Lelouch. He's sitting in the back now, in total darkness. The only light is from his cell phone, and he's scrolling through his contacts.

_My phone's not connecting. The darkness and the unevenness of the road suggest that we are now in the old subway tunnels. I don't know where we're going, so it'd be dangerous to try to escape. Hmmm… yes, I see, the situation's quite clear. I don't know where the army is, but if I take a look at the terrorist's transmitter…_

In his hand is a hand radio, left by the girl. His hand tightens around it.

_Oh…I forgot…_

The side of a road. Rivalz is pushing his motorcycle with much effort. "Damn Lelouch!" he pants "He just left me!"

"Wh-what's that look for?" Now the scene is in the government buildings. The general is being stared at by a man in a white lab coat with pale blue hair and glasses.

"Uh-huh!" the man replies "so I was right!"

"You—" The general stammers in defense.

"You're overdoing it." The scientist ignores the general. Tanks roll past. "Something you were researching in secret, even from Prince Clovis and Parliament." The man straightens up. "Stolen by terrorists. It would be easy to get it back, but all your friends want to see some action too. If you just let the terrorists go, you would find their hideout. Congratulations," he calls to the woman behind him who is wearing an orange uniform and has blue hair, "your deductions were right on the money."

She folds her hands, embarrassed. "I just thought something was odd…"

"That's enough," the general growls. "What do you suggest we do after that?"

"Well I'd like to help you with your endeavor," the man leans in.

"Help?"

"Yes," the scientist responds, "I'd like to collect some data."

"What is it that's been stolen?" the woman in the uniform asks.

The general freezes.

"A chemical weapon. Poison gas."

Now we see Lelouch, sitting unprotected, next to the huge, airtight tank.

[Halfway point]

The report comes from the military.

"The terrorists are now in the subway system. Our goal is the recovery of the weapon the terrorists stole. Search the entire Shinjuku ghetto!"

Helicopters begin to advance upon the ghetto full of innocent Elevens.

"Report in when you've found them. They will be apprehended by the CA group. You may be honorable Britannian citizens now, but you were once Elevens. Cleanse their stench from this land. Your participation in this operation will contribute greatly to your position. Now is the moment to prove your loyalty to the Holy Britannian Empire!"

This is spoken to all ground troops, by their captain, a slightly crazy looking man up in an airship hundreds of feet above the ground.

"Yes, my lord!" comes the response.

In the truck, Nakata has been shot. Blood is spreading across his white uniform. He is still driving the truck, though.

Suddenly the truck jerks.

_We've stopped._ Lelouch thinks. _An obstacle. _

A soldier. His visor scans the truck. It's stuck. The wheels are spinning uselessly.

"No…no good?" whispers the driver, barely alive.

The jerking stop dislodged something in the tank. A wire short circuits. The driver reaches for a switch.

"Looks like this is it. God help me." He flicks it, and in the back, a side door opens. Lelouch runs out of the way. The soldier can see in, and notices the capsule.

He clicks his communicator.

In the captain's airship, an officer shouts. "404 has found the target."

"Right!" the captain replies. "Prepare to launch!"

Suddenly, the soldier spots the boy sitting inside the truck. He runs towards him.

_If I can just reach the surface… _Lelouch thinks.

He turns to see the soldier give a spinning kick, knocking him against the wall.

The soldier grabs him by the neck.

"Why poison people?" the soldier yells.

"I'm not—" Lelouch protests, then starts, "Poison gas?"

"Don't play dumb!" the soldier orders.

Lelouch kicks him away. "I'm telling you, I'm not—"

The soldier assumes a fighting stance. Lelouch stands and defends himself. "Britannia made that poison gas, didn't it?"

The soldier is surprised. "You…"

The capsule sparks.

Lelouch walks toward the soldier. "You don't want any more deaths? Get rid of the Britannian Empire!"

The soldier is quiet. "Lelouch?" he asks tentatively.

Lelouch is startled as the soldier takes off his helmet to reveal shaggy brown hair and brown eyes.

"It's me: Suzaku." He smiles.

Lelouch is shocked. Memories fly back. That last summer, the last time he saw Nunnally. The moment he made up his mind.

"You became a Britannian soldier?"

"And you…" Suzaku says, "no, it wouldn't be possible! What are you-?" his question is cut short as the tank begins to open, not releasing deadly gas, but a blinding light.

Suzaku throws Lelouch to the ground, covering his mouth and nose, but it is unnecessary. When the light fades, the only thing left in the capsule is a girl, wrapped and bound, writhing to get free.

Suzaku is shocked. "It's not poison gas?"

"I'm sorry," Kallen tells the transmitter, "I got excited and lost my way. We can use the Glasgow's transponder. But is it really…"

She's drinking one of her liquid rations, leaning back in her seat.

"I believe it's poison gas, as our source suggested. Where's Nakata."

Nakata is lying in a pool of his blood in the cabin of the truck.

Outside, in the tunnel, Lelouch is holding the girl, now unconscious, or close enough.

"See, Suzaku, is this poison gas?" he demands.

"But…in the briefing they said…"

Light slams on from one of the side tunnels. Suzaku and Lelouch turn to look.

"Damn monkey!" the captain exclaims. Behind him is a platoon of soldiers. "Not even a true Britannian is permitted to touch that!"

Suzaku runs to the captain. "But I was told it was poison gas!"

"You have no right to question us!" the captain yells.

Lelouch is nearly trembling. _This is bad. I don't want to give away my identity, but…_ He rises.

"But _I_ do." He says.

The captain turns to look at him. "Oh, and who are you?"

Lelouch stands. "I am Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh Prince to the Holy throne, and I command you to tell me what this is about!"

The captain is quiet for a moment, a smile spreads slowly across his face. "A member of the Royal family, eh? Or so you say. It doesn't matter." He hands a gun to Suzaku. "I'll give you one last chance to redeem yourself. Private Kururugi, use this to execute the terrorist."

Suzaku stumbles back. "But—but—he's—"

The captain laughs. "Even the Emperor knows that anyone can go bad. To bad that this time, it just happened to be the Eleventh Prince…"

Suzaku still hesitates.

The captain yells. "This is an order, private Kururugi! You swore allegiance to Britannia!"

"That's true…but I cannot. He is a Britannian prince."

Lelouch is surprised.

"What?" The captain demands.

"I will not! I will not kill an innocent. I will not shoot him."

The captain's expression hardens, and he turns the gun around in his hand. "Then die."

By the time Suzaku can do anything he is shot in the kidney. He falls, as if in slow motion for Lelouch.

"Suzaku!"

The captain looks at Lelouch. "This is just bad luck for you. If you really are a prince, then you were at the wrong place at the wrong time." He turns to his troops. "Capture the girl and kill the boy."

"You can't do this!" Lelouch protests. "My father—Prince Schneizel—Prince Odysseus—they—"

At this moment, Nakata, in his last breath, reaches down to a switch in the cab.

"Britannian basterds. Long live Japan!" His last words.

The truck erupts in fire and shrapnel, bringing down the ceiling of the subway tunnel, separating Lelouch and the soldiers.

Above them, a huge machine rumbles over the ghetto. It is purple and the bridge protrudes out, giving the effect of a small, moving palace that towers over a battlefield, looking down on its foes.

"They got away?" Cries the general. "From team CA?"

"I-I'm sorry sir." One of his subordinates stutters. "They had more explosives than we anticipated. And the bedrock—"

"I thought you knew everything about this situation!"

"W—we will continue to search, sir."

"Let us move this operation to the next phase." Clovis says from his throne.

General Bartley turns to him. "But, My Lord!"

"If 'that'becomes public knowledge, I'll be forced to abdicate. Just tell the homeland that we are proceeding with rezoning of this area. This is an order as decreed by Third Prince Clovis!" he stands. "Destroy the Shinjuku ghetto! Leave no one alive!"

Knightmares launch. Orders are given. The purple machine is revealed to be a mobile fortress as panels slide open and guns appear from them. Anyone and everyone in the open near the fortress is shot.

Women and children run through alleys, only to be gunned down by Knightmares. The elderly are killed as they leave their apartments.

The green-haired man from before is leading troops in the destruction of buildings.

"Commander Jeremiah! General Bartley wants you to take command of squadron two!"

"Leave it to my chief of staff. Let me enjoy my time on the front lines!"

Lelouch is running through the tunnels, nearly dragging the mysterious girl behind him. She stumbles and falls.

"Just what are you?" he cries desperately. With her mouth covered, she just gazes at him. Explosions rock the tunnels behind them. "This is all your fault!' he accuses. "Isn't it? And Britannia…Britannia killed Suzaku!"

"He's not here?" the scientist asks. Now, their personal truck is stationed just in front of the fortress.

"No, apparently he was sent to the front lines." Says the blue-haired woman in the orange uniform.

"But what will we do with the Lancelot?"

"What can we do?"

The man in the white coat looks upset. "We finally got it finished, but without a Devicer…" he held up an impressive Knightmare key.

Lelouch and the strange girl are climbing carefully up a flight of stairs, finally finding the exit.

"Listen," he tells the girl, "you have to stay here." She merely looks at him through her long, pale green hair.

Lelouch peeked up over the floor to see if the coast was clear.

The moment he does, there is a blast of gunfire. He ducked back down, and a body fell to the ground.

The captain from before walks in. There is a small squad of soldiers around the entrance to the warehouse.

"How is it?" the captain asks.

"Looks like there are only Elevens." A soldier replies.

The captain grits his teeth. "Is this the only exit?"

Lelouch is watching this from the subway entrance, just below the floor line. He holds his breath.

"Yes, according to the most recent maps."

They don't seem to notice Lelouch, and for a moment, they appear to be leaving.

Then Lelouch's phone rings.

He quickly shuts the power off.

At the school, the girl with orange hair stops. "That damn Lulu hung up on me!"

Back at the ghetto, Lelouch is thrown against a wall, the girl is held by two of the soldiers.

The captain smiles. "A fitting end to a _terrorist_." He smirks.

Lelouch tries to protest. "But I'm—"

"Yes, yes, you're a prince. Too bad…"

The captain raised his gun. The moment before he fired, though, the girl shook off her captors and leapt in front of the bullet. It her directly in the center of her head, right in the middle of a strange tattoo, shaped like a stylized pair of wings. Her body fell. Lelouch knelt down to her.

"I would have liked to keep her alive, but…" The captain said. He turned to a subordinate. "Report to headquarters. Team CA has found the terrorists' hideout and eliminated them. However, the hostage was dead by the time we got here. What do you think, _Prince_?" he mocks.

_What the hell is this? _Lelouch thinks. _Suzaku, this girl. Is this where I meet my end? Helpless to the end? NUNNALLY!_

Suddenly, inexplicably, the girl grabs his hand, and he is suddenly somewhere different. Swirling colors, strange sounds.

There is a voice, the same he heard when the truck crashed. "You don't want it to end here, do you?"

_What is this?_ Lelouch wonders.

"It seems you have a reason to live."

He sees something. _That girl? Impossible!_

"If you had the strength, you could live."

It was the girl.

"This is our contract. In return for my gift of power, you must grant one wish of mine."

A tunnel. Two vast enigmas, tied together.

"If you enter into this contact, you will live as a human, but also as something completely different. Different rules, different time, different life…"

An army of the faithful. Ancient ruins. The cosmos. Lelouch is left in the vortex he started in.

"The power of the king will make you lonely indeed. If you are ready for that, then…"

A massive temple, his father in the center saying something about 'Ragnarock'.

Thoughts flash through Lelouch's mind, thoughts of the empire, and his and Schneizel's plans. But mostly, just one thought. _I want to live._

He raises his eyes. "I hereby enter into this contract!"

There is a flash and he is back in reality. In what seemed like a lifetime to him, only a moment had passed.

Lelouch stands. His hand covers his face.

"Answer me this." He says. "How should I live, a Britannian Prince that hates Britannia?"

The captain looks up. "You some kind of philosopher?"

For some reason, he doesn't shoot. Perhaps he notices the subtle change in the way the boy in front of him holds himself.

"What's the matter?" Lelouch taunts. "You're up against a student. Or have you finally realized that those who kill must be equally prepared to be killed?"

He removes his hand from his face, and in his left eye, the pupil has shrunk and the iris paled. In the center is the same sign as on the strange girl's head.

"Lelouch vi Britannia commands you, all of you, to die!" he proclaims.

All the soldiers raise their guns, a red glow forming behind their own irises. As one they all say, "Yes, my Lord!" and pull the trigger.

As the bloodthirsty killers eliminate themselves in front of him, a small smile creeps on to Lelouch's face.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Again—this doesn't look that different, but there are some significant changes that just aren't apparent in this chapter. I promise that in the next one they will be more obvious.

Stage 2

The White Knight Awakens

"What exactly did you want me to do with this power?" Lelouch asks the dead girl pensively.

Suddenly there is rumbling and a wall collapses. A Knightmare wheels in. The pilot is the silver haired woman. She scans the area. The only sign of life is a boy standing amidst the carnage.

"What happened to team CA?" she asks herself. She presses a button. Suddenly, her voice is broadcasted out to Lelouch.

"What happened here? What is a Britannian student like you doing here? Answer me, or…" She fires in a circle at the wall behind him, each shot barely missing him. He doesn't move. "Answer me!" she orders.

"Get out of here now!" he calls to her in a commanding tone. His left eye changes back to the form it was in when he gave the order to the soldiers.

The woman in the Knightmare sits back. Her eyes widen in surprise. "Who do you think you are?" she yells.

Lelouch's eye turns back to normal. _I see,_ he thinks. _It won't work if I can't make eye contact._ He steps forward and puts his hands up.

"I am the Eleventh Prince, Lelouch vi Britannia. I'm here in Japan to observe the populace, especially the Elevens. I was examining the Shinjuku ghetto when I found this." He gestures to all the dead bodies on the floor.

The woman seems even more surprised. "Royalty?" she says to herself.

Lelouch continues. "I have identification paperwork in my pocket. After you confirm my identity, I would like to request your protection."

The woman presses the 'off' button and removes the key to her Knightmare. The cockpit opens and she steps out. She lowers herself down and points her gun at Lelouch, Then she begins to walk towards him.

"If you really are of the Royal Family, then I am deeply sorry about pointing a gun at you. However, I must check the papers you say you have."

Lelouch shakes his head. "Not at all. It is necessary in this situation." He looks up and his eye changes again. "Now give me your Knightmare."

The woman switches her gun to her other hand and reaches in her pocket. She pulls out the key and tosses it to him.

"The code is XG2-ID2D4."

Lelouch catches it. "Good."

The woman comes to standing in the middle of the warehouse, looking out through a hole in the wall that wasn't there before.

"What am I doing?" she wonders.

"Too bad!" the strange scientist laughs at Suzaku as he slowly awakes. "You were_ so_ close to those pearly gates, Private First Class Kururugi!" The woman in the orange uniform is standing behind him.

"Um…where am I?" Suzaku says as he sits up.

He is in a big orange tanker, baring the red cross.

"Oh," the scientist assures him, "you're still in the Shinjuku ghetto. We're near Prince Clovis, so it's really the safest place to be…"

The woman with blue hair leans down to show Suzaku something wrapped in a white cloth. "Suzaku, this thing saved you."

It is an old pocket watch, the face now shattered.

"It only barely protected you from the bullet, though." The scientist adds. "Is it something precious to you?"

"Yes." Suzaku replies.

"Is that just a part of some Eleven superstition, or…"

Suzaku doesn't answer.

"Um," he inquires instead, "Lelouch—" He changes his mind. "What's the situation?"

"I hear they got control of the poison gas," the scientist answers. "though the Elevens were met with severe casualties. It looks like the culprit hasn't been found, but…"

"I see," Suzaku replies, "Still?"

The scientist looks him over. "Private First Class Kururugi, how much experience do you have piloting Knightmare frames?"

The question appears to surprise Suzaku. "None, of course! A former Eleven can't become a Knight!"

The scientist holds up the gaudy key. "And if you could?"

"Congratulations!" The scientist calls to Suzaku from in front of the huge thing covered by a black tarp. "A completely one-of-a-kind Knightmare, just for you! If you get in, your life will change forever!" he pauses, and then adds, like an afterthought, "whether you want it to or not."

A tank is blasting machinegun fire at a fleeing woman and her child. Suddenly, out of the ground a Slash Harken bursts, slamming into the tank, blowing it up.

"Damn Britannians!" The pilot of the Glasgow, Kallen, yells. "How dare you!"

"Kallen!" comes the voice from her radio. "Is the Glasgow still operational?"

"It's fine!" she says back, preparing to engage more forces.

The man on the other end of the radio has curly, brown hair and like Kallen, wears a red headband. He's picking through the smoldering remains of a building.

"I'll run interface while you get these people out!" Kallen continues. "If I get caught, I'll only get a slap on the wrist."

"I know," the man replies, "But they're coming at us in full force!"

Behind him, a man fires a rocket launcher.

The private school. Girls are watching a small television as they change into swimsuits. They talk amongst themselves about the game show.

"But he was right!"

"No, that wasn't the right answer…"

"He's as good as lost!"

The orange haired girl is finishing changing when her phone rings.

"Lulu? Why are you calling me?" comes the voice once she's picked up. "Where are you?"

Lelouch is now in the Knightmare.

"If you keep cutting class, you're going to be expelled!" she says sternly as she ties back her hair.

"Shirley, Do you have a television there?" He asks bluntly.

She's surprised by this. "A television?"

"I'm sorry, but this is important."

"Man…" Shirley sights. "Alright, hold on a second."

She turns over to the girls watching TV.

"Sorry, can I borrow this?" she asks them.

One of them nods.

"What is it?" she asks Lelouch.

"The news. Tell me what's happening in Shinjuku."

"The news? Umm…" There is a brief pause. "They're saying there's a traffic jam."

"And why is that?" Lelouch asks.

"They aren't saying. I guess there's no real reason…"

_I see,_ Lelouch thinks. _They're going to announce it in a way that benefits the military once it's all over._

He looks at his veiwscreen. On the ground is a ball and a boardgame, abandoned in the panic.

"Is this one of your bets again?" Shirly asks pointedly. "You really shouldn't—"

Lelouch is zooming in on the board game now. It's not just any board game, it is a chessboard, pieces scattered across it. His eyes come to rest on the figure of the black king.

"Yeah, I know," Lelouch cuts off Shirly's lecturing. "Tell everyone that I'll be late tonight."

He reaches up and shuts off the phone.

"God, why does he always do this?" Shirly yells.

"The number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable." This comes from the phone.

_Well,_ thinks Lelouch, _Since this is a classified operation, it will be difficult getting reinforcements. That means this is all they have._

He is pondering the map that gives the positions of all the Britannian units.

_Still, _he thinks, _it would be difficult for me to get out of this alone. Yet it would be even more difficult to get them to take me in…_

As he exits the Knightmare he has one last thought. _Schneizel will understand that I was forced to start a bit early…_

The Glasgow flies out of the dust cloud and brings down another helicopter.

Lelouch watches it fall, flaming, from the sky.

"Shall I repay you for putting me in this situation?" He asks quietly.

As the Slash Harken returns, two Knightmares wheel up behind Kallen.

"It's that Glasgow," says Jeremiah from inside one of the cockpits.

He fires at her, but she speeds away around a corner.

Lelouch pulls the terrorists' hand radio out of his inside pocket.

Kallen looks down at the blinking light on her control panel. It's her battery life. It doesn't look good. She has less then a quarter of her power left.

"Another thirty minutes." She tells herself.

"Head west!" comes a new voice from her communicator. "Use the last of your energy to get to the west exit."

"Who are you?" she calls back. "How do you know this frequency?"

"That doesn't matter," Lelouch replies. "If you wish to win, then trust me."

"Win?" Kallen says it like it's a possibility she had never thought of before.

She does as the voice suggests, flipping up to a raised railway and latching on to the rails.

"What do I do now?" She asks desperately.

Jeremiah is hot on her heels, running the rails just behind her.

"Pitiful Elevens." The man snorts. "It's no fun to hunt you if you do nothing but run."

Just as Kallen notices the train coming at her head on, the voice on her radio speaks again.

"In return for trusting me, I'm going to help you. Jump on top of it."

Kallen works the controls and does so.

Jeremiah stops and is pushed by the train as Kallen bounds along its cars.

"Did you really believe that would help?" he whispers. "Running is not great strategy."

Jeremiah hits the breaks, slowing the automated train to a stop.

"Go chase after the Glasgow," he orders his subordinate behind him.

"Yes, my Lord!"

Just as he leaps, though, the Knightmare is thrown out of the air by two Slash Harkens fired from a blown out wall of a ruined building.

"What?" Jeremiah shouts. "A-an ambush? What unit are you from?" he questions the new Knightmare.

"I swear no allegiance!" the pilot calls back, firing off a few rounds at Jeremiah.

"No way! He's a terrorist!" Jeremiah realizes.

One of his Knightmare's legs is shot off.

"Y-you!" Jeremiah yells. In a bought of rage, he raises his gun to return fire.

Suddenly the Glasgow flies back down the length of train to slam into Jeremiah. At the last moment, he hits the emergency eject seat and escapes.

Kallen looks up to the new Knightmare—her savior. "Thanks. How did you get hold of a Sutherland?"

But the Knightmare isn't there.

"Hey, Kallen!" The man she had talked to earlier and other members of her team come running up behind her. "We've got 'em out!"

"Really?" she asks. "Even Toshida's group?"

"Yeah, they're all gonna be here too—"

The radio crackles. "Are you the leaders? I'll give you everything in that train as a present. A tool, to win this fight."

They look at the train that had ground to a halt.

The voice continues. "If you intend to use it to bring victory, then listen to my commands."

When the team opens up the train, they find he is right. It _is_ a useful tool. The train is full of fresh-off-the-line Sutherlands.

Kallen's eyes are wide.

Every car is filled with them. The entire train.

"Let's listen to what this guy has to say," one of the team says.

_Where did he get this many? _Kallen wonders.

"You in the Glasgow," the voice from the radio calls.

"Yes?" she responds.

"You stay in there. These machines don't suit your style.

"Understood."

"How much energy do you have left?"

"About fifteen minutes worth."

"Well then, put in a new battery."

The next comment was to everyone. "I'll give new orders within fifteen minutes."

Lelouch lowers the radio.

_This is unexpectedly taxing_ he thought. _But I need to muster the strength to press on. I'm betting my life on this game._

He spins the black king in his hand.

"It seems the Elevens have organized a crude resistance," This is from General Bartly, who is watching the large table-screen that gives him updates on where his Britannian forces are moving. "But our army still has the tactical advantage." He turns to Clovis.

"Of course." Clovis responds. "More importantly…"

"Yes, I understand," says Bartly, "it was a gas capsule. That's what we're saying. Shall we try to capture her?"

"Yes. Dead or alive."

"Is this safe? The IFF's are offline, so how are we going to distinguish friend from foe?" one of the team members asks.

Lelouch broadcasts to everyone. "They think they have the advantage, so we won't need any complex strategies to defeat them."

The man with curly hair is already in a Knightmare. "You just go where you're ordered."

"P-1," Lelouch asks, "can you move? It should be similar to the other's you've piloted."

The man with curly hair picks up the hand radio. "Who are you?" he asks. "At least tell us your name!"

"I can't. I don't know if this frequency is being monitored. Anyway, Q-1 is on her way."

"The enemy's Sutherlands should be there in twenty-five seconds," the voice on the radio says. "Two of them, probably. They'll be caught off guard. Shoot them down!"

"What's he talking about?" the man with brown, swept back hair asks.

"Ready your weapons everybody," the man with curly hair warns.

"Hey, are you serious?" the other man exclaims.

"Enemy contact at point 3-1!" one of the officers yells.

"A decoy, eh?" the Prince replies lazily, "how primitive."

"Follow the Glasgow and search out any enemies in the vicinity." Bartly orders. "Hit them from behind!"

"Fire," the curly haired man—apparently the leader—orders.

The Knightmares are standing in a line, firing at the two newcomers that just appeared.

The two new Sutherlands are caught in the spray, hit repeatedly. Finally both were destroyed.

"Oygen and Valerie's units are both gone," one of the officers comments.

Clovis straightens up. "Reinforcements?"

Lelouch gazes at the Black Knight.

_ID signatures, _he thinks._ They're a double-edged sword._

He smiles. _If the terrorists will obey my orders, the outcome of this battle is already clear._

"P-1, P-4, P-7," he tells the terrorists, "move three hundred meters to the right and fire your Slash Harkens at three o'clock."

"Alright," the man with curly hair tells his compatriots. "Obey that voice!"

The other brown haired man pauses as he enters a Sutherland. "God, nothing for it, I guess."

"Hurry up P-5!" comes the voice.

"Don't call me that," the man mutters back.

Another Knightmare goes down

"They're here, too!" the pilot calls at the last moment.

"Enemy is moving to area G-2!" an officer cries.

General Bartly is gritting his teeth. "Send in Laszlo's—no, Glaub's unit!"

Clovis is shocked, almost terrified. "I-it can't be," he mutters, "our machines are in the terrorist's hands?"

A Slash Harken flies around the corner of a roof, carrying the Glasgow close behind.

The Sutherland turns and begins to scan when the Glasgow's fist slams into the Sutherland's face, smashing the entire apparatus.

Another 'lost' symbol appears on the screen.

"We've lost Glaub's unit!"

"Change frequencies! Our communications are being monitored!" yells Bartly.

"But sir, this is the fourth time!"

"I don't care! Do it again!"

Prince Clovis suddenly stands up. "What's going on out there?"

"I-I'm sorry, Your Highness! Bartly calls back.

Suddenly a video channel opens on the vertical screen. It shows the strange scientist's face.

"Hello there!" he calls excitedly.

"What do you want?" the General demands, "We're in the middle of an operation!"

"Well," the scientist replies, "our new weapon is ready!"

"Now is not the time!" the Prince reprimands him.

A tank is blown away.

"R-2! Fire your anchor!"

A helicopter is shot out of the sky. Lelouch moves his Black Bishop up a space.

"B-7, use an armor piercing round!"

A hole appears through an armored car. Lelouch moves his Black Knight.

"N-unit! Advance as you are!"

Sutherlands charge forward, decimating Britannian lines.

'Lost'

'Lost'

'Lost'

'Lost'

Four units disappear from the map.

"We've lost contact with Laszlo's unit!" an officer calls.

The Prince steps forward. "Now! Send all units to the center of their formation!"

"But my lord," Bartly protests, "that will cause _our _formation to crumble!"

_Well then,_ Lelouch thinks to himself, _there are several ways the enemy can move now…_

He smiles wickedly.

Clovis points at the center of the map. "Send everyone to this central location. We _know_ the enemy is there!"

Lelouch spins the last, critical piece, the Black Queen, in his fingers.

Jeremiah watches as Britannian forces rush forward.

"They're breaking formation?" he wonders.

_Oh,_ Lelouch thinks,_ they made the most foolish move possible._

"Q-1, this map is accurate, right?" he asks as he watches all the little units on his screen converge.

"As far as I can tell," comes the reply, "there might be some changes, though."

"That's good enough."

"Right!" the Prince says eagerly. "Send in Elbe's unit!"

"Mission number three." Lelouch orders.

"Focus your attack on the central point!" Clovis cries.

"You ready?' Lelouch asks.

"We've completely surrounded the enemy's main force," an officer says.

The Third and the Eleventh Princes' eyes narrow at exactly the same time. "Crush them," the Third Prince says.

When the Britannian forces arrive, though, there is nothing but empty space. They can se no troops but each other.

What?" The Third Prince Clovis exclaims, "The enemy's not there?"

The terrorists are belowground, hidden in the subway tunnels Lelouch ran through earlier.

They stop and turn.

Lelouch smiles and moves his Black Queen forward.

"And that's check."

Slash Harkens fire from the underground Knightmares, directly at the ceiling.

Cracks form, then there is a rumble, and the tunnels in front of the Knightmares collapses.

The floor around the Britannian forces crumbles, sending many machines, not to mention their pilots, to their doom. A pillar of dust rises from the ground.

Clovis almost trips forward. His eyes are wide. The map shows nothing but a cloud of 'lost' icons, spreading like a wave through his forces.

Lelouch begins to laugh, then can't stop. He laughs manically, crazily, like a madman.

"I can do it!" he exclaims when he has calmed down, "I can crush Britannia!"

Clovis takes a horrified step backward. Then another. And another. "W-who? Who is it?" he asks. "Who am I fighting? Does he know what I'm thinking? Can he read my mind?"

"Lloyd!" he calls.

"Ah, yes?" the scientist—presumably Lloyd—inquires.

"Can your toy win this for us?" he asks.

"My Prince, please call it the Lancelot."

[Midpoint]

"Activating the new weapon. Unit Z-01: the Lancelot."

A mechanical launching station rises from the Science Team's truck. A custom Knightmare rack lowers down from it.

Resting on it is a Knightmare covered in a big black tarp.

A man is putting on an intricate pilot's jumpsuit, ornamented with gold trim and crests. He has bandages around his lower torso, as though he had been shot in the kidney.

"Hatch has been released," the voice says.

"Z-01: Lancelot standing by. Removing final safety locks."

"Though it's only in simulations, your grades are top of your class." The woman is telling the pilot through his headset. It is Suzaku. "Did you read the manual?"

"Most of it."

"Very good."

"Umm…" Suzaku says. "About the grades…"

"Well, the potential is there, the likelihood is nearly zero."

"But it isn't zero?"

"Well no, but don't try anything stupid. The escape mechanism on the C-system has been disabled."

"Right, I understand that, Cécile."

Locks disengage and the black tarp flies off revealing the machine underneath.

It is a white Knightmare, sleek and thinner than most, more streamlined. It's trimmed in gold, and its head is in a shape strangely reminiscent of a knightly helm.

"So this is it…" Suzaku murmurs in awe.

"Yes. Our newest weapon, produced by our most advanced manufacturing techniques. Lancelot. The only seventh generation Knightmare Frame in existence."

The Earl Lloyd is standing in the control truck. "Well then, Suzaku," he says, "let's begin the activation sequence."

Cécile leans in. "Beginning activation from stage twenty. Attach the energy filler."

"Thirty seconds until activation."

The Knightmare's energy bar fills, the power chamber lights and starts up.

"Devicer setup. Devicer Z-01, entry confirmed."

Suzaku jumps into the cockpit.

"Transponder active."

The screens inside suddenly turn on, brightening the pilot's chamber.

Suzaku inserts the elegant key.

"Man-machine interface activation confirmed."

Lights on the head begin to flicker and calibrate.

"Yggdrasil visual interface confirmed."

Suzaku grips the steering handles.

"Force-feedback interface active. Devicer stress level within reasonable range."

The drive begins to spin, rotating the Sakuradite cube.

"All systems are go!"

"All going according to plan…" Lloyd mumbles.

"Systems all green! Releasing backup energy source."

The trucks disperse, giving the Lancelot a wide berth.

"Second phase complete."

The Lancelot disconnects and adopts its unique launching position.

"Lancelot," Suzaku says, "M.E. boost!"

"Lancelot, launch!"

The wheels spin, and the Lancelot flies forward.

Earl Lloyd and Cécile are thrown back.

"Full throttle right away!" Lloyd laughs.

"This is better than the manual suggested." Suzaku comments. "Surely I'll—"

The man with swept back brown hair is staring at his screen.

"What's that?"

A strange, white Knightmare was darting from side to side in the monitor, speeding forward all the while.

"For a Sutherland, it's awfully fas—"

Then its face was in the screen and its fist was in his Sutherland's face.

Lelouch is watching the screen to see what his enemy's next move will be.

_Just a little bit more and we will have broken through the enemy's lines._

The radio crackled.

"This is B-group! We're under attack!"

_Reinforcements?_ Lelouch wonders. _Real combat seems to be very different…_

` "What is the situation?" he asks.

"Four units were down in a flash! They all ejected safely, though."

"How many are there?"

"One. One!"

Lelouch is surprised.

The pilot on the other end continues. "It must be a new model; I've never it befo—"

The pilot screams and then there's nothing but static.

"Hey," Lelouch calls, "What happened?"

The Lancelot has taken out another unit. As the cloud settles, more Knightmares level their guns at him. A strange shield shape flickers on his arm, and the shots ricochet off the strange force field.

"Basterd!" the pilots call.

"What?" Lelouch inquires, his interest piqued, "It deflected your bullets?"

"Yeah, what should we do?" There is a moment of silence. Then the pilot yells, "Ishida!"

There is a crash, and the line reverts to static.

_Damn useless terrorists!_ Lelouch thinks. _How can so many fall to a single enemy?_

The Lancelot fires a Slash Harken at another Sutherland, then whips it around, pulling the Knightmare into one of its comrades, destroying both.

Suzaku looks at the wreckage he caused.

_I can do it._ He thinks. _With Lancelot's help, I can change the world._

"N-4, N-5," Lelouch orders, "slow it down. Surround it and wait for additional forces."

"Got it," they reply.

There is the sound of gunfire, then metal slicing through metal, and the pilots call, "We can't stop this thing!"

This line, too, goes static.

"Hey! Tell me what happened!" Lelouch orders desperately. "Good lord, what is going on?"

Now Prince Clovis is standing smugly at the map, watching the Lancelot advance with ease.

"My goodness," he says, "My brother has created quite the formidable machine…" He turns to sit back down. "Well, I guess that's the end of it."

The Lancelot throws down a Knightmare, turns on the next and kicks it into a wall, then dodges the fire of the third, using the wheels to run along the wall in a zigzag pattern until it brings it's fist into the Sutherland.

"P-1!" Lelouch calls, "What happened?"

_Is there really only one enemy?_ He asks himself.

"The response rate exceeds our expectations," Cécile informs Lloyd.

"Yes, well, he's very serious about this."

Suzaku swings the Slash Harkens around like whips, bringing down three more Sutherlands.

_If I take out all the Knightmares,_ Suzaku tells himself, _then the battle will be over. I have to save Lelouch and that girl at all costs._

He looks up at the ruins of a building, spotting a heat signature at the top level. Using his Slash Harkens as grappling hooks, he swings himself up.

There is one unit hiding up there.

Lelouch watches in shock as the white Knightmare pulls itself up to him. It moves incredibly fast; when it gets up, it covers the ground between them in less than two seconds.

_So this is the one that ruined my plan!_

"You're the leader, aren't you?" Suzaku mutters.

He pushes the Knightmare down, nearly crushing it.

_How dare he!_ Lelouch demands.

Finally the floor gives way, dropping both of them four floors.

_Nothing for it,_ Lelouch thinks, _I have to get out of here._

Suddenly the white Knightmare flies out of the dust, slamming into Lelouch's Sutherland. It raises its fist to crush Lelouch when out of nowhere, the Glasgow grabs its arm.

"This makes us even!" Kallen calls to Lelouch.

The white Knightmare sends a Slash Harken through the Glasgow, and the ancient machine spasms.

Kallen hits a button and the cockpit ejects her safely away just before the Glasgow erupts in fire.

_I have to learn from this,_ Lelouch thinks, _the trick of real combat is that everyone is human._

He is now moving as fast as the now-obsolete Sutherland can carry him. He turns and fires at the white Knightmare. Most of his shots hit the windows on either side of the road.

Some of his shots do hit his target—not the white Knightmare, but the foundation of the building. It collapses over the white Knightmare. It scans quickly and dodges all the falling debris.

_He doesn't care about casualties!_ Suzaku thinks, alarmed.

Amidst the falling rubble, he spots a woman and a baby falling from the ruined eleventh floor.

He looks at the Sutherland carrying the terrorist, now quite a bit ahead of him.

He glances up at the falling woman, rapidly approaching her impending doom.

Suzaku makes a split second decision and leaps up in the air, lightly catching the woman and her child.

Lelouch watched the white Knightmare as the distance widened between them. It had kneeled down to set the woman on her feet gently.

By the time it recovers, the gap between them is much too wide and Lelouch was home free.

_He saved a bystander in the middle of a battle?_ Lelouch thinks, astounded. Then he looks away.

_I'll let you have as many strategic victories as you like, as long as…_

He disengages the lock of the cockpit.

"He saved someone?" Lloyd asks.

"So it would seem," Cécile replies.

"Hmm…what and odd boy…" Lloyd whispers to himself.

When the woman gets time to look at the Knightmare, she turns and runs screaming from it.

Suzaku watches, puzzled.

The communication screen activates and Cécile appears.

"Suzaku," she says, "you must be tired. Want to stop?"

Suzaku gets up. "No, I'll keep going. Please, allow me to."

"Watch out for his remaining energy!" Lloyd's voice calls from a distance off-screen.

"Right!" Cécile replies.

At the foot of the mobile fortress, a soldier steps up to a security check.

"Stop!" the soldier there orders. "Show me your ID!"

When the other soldier doesn't stop, he tries again.

"Stop, this is Clovis's personal HQ!"

Finally the soldier responds, albeit strangely. He reaches up to remove his helmet.

"At last," the strange soldier says quietly, "I am met with some resistance. This will be better than I had planned."

The guard is suspicious of this. "Planned?"

"Yes," the soldier replies, "I would like you to let me pass."

The guard relaxes and brings his gun down. "Oh. I see."

The symbol fades from Lelouch's eye.

Kallen is running passed a storage barn. Their leader, the man with the curly brown hair appears and directs her in.

Inside, a heated debate is brewing.

"This all happened because you went up against Britannia!"

"What was that, you spineless coward?"

"How many died today?"

"Shut up!" the man with swept back hair yells, "Lot's of people died today. So what?"

Kallen interrupts their argument. "What happened to that man?"

"I don't know," the leader replies. "He's not answering our calls. He may be dead."

There is a thud at the door and everyone turns to look. The industrial loading bay blows open, revealing and army of Britannian troopers and Knightmares.

"See, Ohgi?" the man with swept back hair calls to the leader. "If you were willing to follow some random guys orders, we should have at least used the poison gas!"

"But…" the man—Ohgi—trails off.

"What were you thinking, you idiot?"

A speaker blares from one of the soldiers or machines. "So this is where you filthy Elevens have been hiding!"

The commander raises his hand. "Prepare to fire!"

Kallen shakes her head in disbelief. "Ni-san!" she calls desperately.

"All units," a voice calls, "pull back immediately!"

Everyone looks out at the battlefield, the huge violet fortress just barely visible with its huge speakers to transmit mass orders in the distance.

_Pull back?_ Is the thought in every person's mind.

Clovis's voice continue giving orders. "I command you in the name of the steward of Area 11, Clovis de Britannia! All units pull back! Stop the destruction of our nation's resources! I order you in the name of Clovis de Britannia! Pull back immediately! I will permit no further combat!"

On the bridge of the fortress, the lights suddenly shut off. Prince Clovis doesn't even notice this, though. His eyes are focused on the man in front of him.

"Is that all?" Clovis asks.

"Yes. Well done."

"What's next?" Clovis asks sarcastically, "Want me to sing a song? Maybe play a game of chess with you?"

The hidden in the shadows steps forward. "Of course not." He pulls off his helmet, but the man holding the gun to him still doesn't bring his face into the light. "I play with you all the time. I always win."

Clovis is puzzles about this. "What?" then in a moment, he begins to get it and he leans back, his eyes wide. "This is about your mother isn't it? I never thought you really gave it up that day."

Lelouch smiles sarcastically, steps forward into the light, and bows ironically.

"Yes, brother, you caught me. Now, you will help me change the world!"


	3. Chapter 3

Stage 3

The False Classmate

"What does he mean by 'pull back'? The gas we were supposed to find is still out there!"

"But it's by Clovis's orders!"

"I'm going to ask General Bartly what brought this on."

But the Elevens are all let free, no matter the protest. When Kallen looks back at the fortress it looks almost empty.

_Then it's just Prince Clovis on the command deck?_

Lelouch raises the gun higher as he approaches Clovis.

"So I take it observation was _not _your real purpose in coming to Area 11?" Clovis asks nonchalantly.

"Of course not. I just wanted to find some way to keep people from using me as a political tool. Much like they have done to you."

There is silence.

"I know nothing about your mother's death that you couldn't find out yourself." Clovis offers. "Your mother was technically a princess, but she was of common birth. The other princesses were no doubt jealous of her. But still. Making it look like a terrorist attack was just cruel."

Lelouch's memories fly back seven years, to that picture of the scene. His mother's small body lying in the center of the huge staircase of the palace, her blood cascading down like a small waterfall. The spatters of blood around everywhere. The tiny, fragile body of Nunnally in the corpse's arms, shivering with shock, eyes wide.

He couldn't look at his brother in the eye for rage. "You killed her didn't you?"

Clovis tries to stumble backward. "No—no, it wasn't me! I swear it wasn't!"

Lelouch sighs. Of course it wasn't. He knew that. This man had the political backbone of sea sponge.

He lowers his gun. "Of course you didn't."

Clovis's eyes soften back down. It is a look of relief.

Lelouch looks up at him. "However…"

Lelouch is hit on the head with a rolled up stack of paper.

"Come on Lelouch! You were asleep just now, weren't you? Your hands just stopped!" this is from the tall, blond haired girl from before—the student president.

Lelouch looks up groggily. "Please don't hit me…"

Rivalz glances at him smugly. "That's what you get for leaving me behind yesterday!"

Shirly—sitting next to Lelouch at the large, official looking, ornate conference table—glances at Lelouch looking a bit hurt. "Yeah, what happened yesterday?"

The blond haired girl brandishes her roll of paper. "Alright people, let's not get sidetracked. We've got to finish figuring out the budget for this year's club activities. We can't miscalculate this!"

The dark green-haired girl in the corner pauses in her typing. "If we do…"

Rivalz laughs. "The equestrian club is right next door, they'll bust in here…again!"

"Rivalz, at least _act _like a student council member!" the student president reprimands.

"You should have thought of this _yesterday_. Maybe we would have had time to get it done!" Shirly says.

"No no, you should have waited until tomorrow." Rivalz says. "Then we wouldn't have bothered trying."

"Good idea!" Lelouch contributes. "We can still do that!"

"GUUUTS!" the student president yells.

Everybody stares at her.

"Are you trying that 'guts' spell again?" Rivalz asks, exasperated.

"Yep!" she responds cheerfully, "I want you people to put your all into this!"

"I don't think such a lame spell is going to do much." Lelouch replies.

"Actually, it's working on me!" Shirly offers.

"Supple _and _willing, eh? I like that." the president says slyly.

"Yep, you trained me well!"

"That's not what I meant." She grins suggestively. "Nice rack. You've been filling out in all the right places…" her smile gets wider as she turns to face her next victim "…right, Lelouch?"

"Oh ho!" Rivalz giggles. Shirly blushes.

"What?" Lelouch asks, his attention having left the conversation for a moment.

Everyone laughs at his confusion.

"God," Shirly says later in the halls, safely away from the president's ears, "who knew the president was really a perverted old man at heart?"

"Milly's always been like that." The dark green haired girl replies.

"Well," Rivalzs laughs, "we got the budget figured out at least!"

As they turn a corner, they hear voices from a classroom.

"Poison gas?"

"Oh, that's scary…"

"We're not even thirty minutes away from Shinjuku!"

"I saw it! There was smoke rising out of Shinjuku yesterday!"

"That was poison gas?..."

"Anything else about Shinjuku in there?"

A few students are huddled around a laptop, watching newsfeed of men in biohazard suits picking through rubble.

Lelouch walks in and watches the feed with Rivalz, Shirly, and the green-haired girl.

Something strikes Shirly as familiar. "Shinjuku?" she looks to Lelouch.

"That's why I called yesterday," he explains, "a friend was telling me about it in real time."

"Hey!" someone yells, "they're showing the bodies of all the Elevens!"

"Don't show me that!" a girl screams.

_That's odd._ Lelouch thinks. _Why isn't __that__ video shown?_

A car is let through the security line.

Inside are two people: Jeremiah and the silver haired woman.

"Our superiors aren't taking this seriously enough." Jeremiah says.

The silver haired woman turns and asks, "Are you talking about General Bartly?"

"The killer penetrated multiple levels of security without pause. We won't find shit with this formal investigation."

"Commander Jeremiah, without Prince Clovis, what are we purists—"

Jeremiah cuts her off. "I'll give the orders. Just wait until all this calms down."

"Kallen!" Leluoch hears as he comes into his next class, "It's been too long! Are you alright?"

Girls are gathered around a desk talking to its occupant. Through a gap in the huddle, Lelouch sees a familiar face.

"Sophie was really worried about you. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes," the terrorist girl replies feebly, "though I can't do much physically."

Her hair is straight and her face is drawn as though she is ill, but she is unmistakably the same girl.

_I see, _Lelouch thinks, _that's why I recognized her._

"If I stay home to much," she's saying, "I'll never catch up with the rest of you."

Lelouch sits down slowly, trying to betray no sign of his recognition.

Rivalz leans into him. "What are you looking at, Lelouch?" he whispers. "You falling for her?" he teases.

"It's just odd," he replies, "She hasn't come to school since the first day, has she?"

"Karen Statfeld..." Rivalz says, "She must be sick or something. She comes to school every once in a while. Her grades are absolutely top notch. She's the heir to the Statfeld family so she's got buckets of money, and she's nice to boot! You've got good taste."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, there's no reason to hide it! She does seem a little sheltered though…"

Later, during lunch, Kallen is eating with some other girls outside.

Someone shrieks. "It's a bee! A bee!"

It's buzzing right next to her head, not two inches away.

"Kallen, run!"

All the other girls jump up and run away as it buzzes around her. She stands up slowly, a bit weakly, then backs up and, with surprising strength, runs away.

She shelters behind some bushes for a moment, letting her weak façade fall away momentarily.

_Bees here? _Another one flies by her and hovers near her face. _Is there a hive nearby?_

She raises her hand as slashes it through the air. The bee falls to the ground.

"God this place pisses me off!" she mutters. "I shouldn't have said I was sick all this time!"

She bites hard on her sandwich.

She feels a presence and turns around.

Lelouch is standing next to her, his face dark.

_Shit, he saw me!_ she thinks.

Lelouch looks at her for a moment._ She __is__ the girl from before._ he thinks.

Kallen hurriedly brings her face back to 'weak and ill'

"C-can I help you?" she asks weakly.

The symbol appears in Lelouch's eye. "Answer my questions."

Kallen straightens up. There appears to be a reddish glow behind her eyes. "Yes."

Lelouch clears his throat. ""You were the pilot of the Glasgow in Shinjuku yesterday, weren't you?"

"Yes."

"Why are you a terrorist?"

"Because I am Japanese, even though I am half Britannian by blood."

Lelouch's eyes widen. _A half-blood?_ "But why are you that extreme?"

Shirly is walking down the hall when she spots something strange. She goes to the window to make sure she is right.

Lulu is talking to Kallen, alone, in an empty corner of the grounds.

The red light leaves Kallen's eyes. She seems confused for a moment. "I-I'm sorry, did you want something from me?" she asks Lelouch.

Lelouch turns and begins to walk away. "No, I have nothing else to ask you." Then he turns back. "Oh yes, and, just in case," the symbol returns to his eye. "Tell no one about Shinjuku."

Kallen cocks her head. "What do you mean 'Shinjuku'? What are you talking about?"

Lelouch's eyes widen. "Go back to class."

"I will, if you answer my question." Kallen fires back.

Lelouch is struck dumb. _It's not working? Why?_ He backs off defensively just as Shirly comes calls from the window, "Lulu! Kallen! We've got chemistry next! You better hurry up if you don't want to be late!"

"Oh no!" Lelouch remembers, "I've got to write my lab report!" He rushes off.

_It failed._ he thinks. _It failed…_

"As you all know," General Bartly says, "the plan was a complete failure. I am shutting this laboratory down."

The researchers looked at him blankly. "But—"

"I've already set up a new location." Bartly says. "Though no record of it exists, the fact is that we were operating outside of Prince Clovis's orders. We would be brought home and put on trial were His Majesty to learn of what we were doing here, in secret."

After a moment all the men come to the same conclusion. "Understood. We'll begin preparations immediately."

The lab is full of the strange capsules the green-haired woman was in, and pictures from over six centuries. Every one had a woman in it with hair that was a strange, bright green.

[Midpoint]

That night, Lelouch calls his brother. After a few rings, someone answers the phone.

"Yes, who is it?" comes the impatient voice on the other end.

"This is Lelouch Vi Britannia. Please get my brother Schneizel."

The man on the other end of the phone spluttered a little bit. "I am sorry, your Highness, but Prince Schneizel is indisposed, may I take a message…your Highness?"

Lelouch considers for a moment. "Yes…tell him…tell him that that chess game we were planning on having when he got back will have to be moved up. I've already got everything ready."

The man on the other end seems confused by this, but not ready to admit that. "Yes…okay. Anything else—your Highness?" he adds hastily to the end.

"No, that is all." Lelouch hangs up.

The next morning, Lelouch is standing just in front of the bridge across the decorative stream on the Ashford Academy's grounds. He looks at his own reflection in the water—his left eye specifically.

_This is the only weapon I have. I have to know how to use it properly._

"Lelouch!" a man calls. It's an adult, crossing the bridge and greeting Lelouch. "Class will be starting soon!"

"Ah, right!" Lelouch says. The symbol appears in his eye. "Professor, will you tell me the essay prompt for our next test?"

The man casually walks up to Lelouch and stops. The red light is behind his eyes. "It's about similarities of the so-called War of Roses and the many wars fought in Manchuria."

Lelouch is relieved. _Then it hasn't left me entirely._ The symbol fades for a moment, then it reappears. "Professor, will you tell me the essay prompt for our next test?"

There is no light behind his eyes this time, and he walks past Lelouch. "Quit screwing around. Just study. You'll be fine."

"Right!" Lelouch calls dutifully.

_As I suspected… I can only use it once per person._

"Well the, how does it feel to actually be in school for once?"

"Stifling." Kallen replies. "We had history class yesterday… Can't I come back?"

"The army's on our asses right now," Ohgi says, "Stay there and have fun for a while."

"But what about that voice?"

"We can't find him from just his voice. Besides, your brother would have been happier with you as a student than a rebel. Forget about Shinjuku for a while. I'll be in touch."

Kallen looks at the phone. _Shinjuku…_

She thinks back to yesterday afternoon. _"Tell no one about Shinjuku"_

_That voice back there…_ she thinks, _could it be…_

She's watching Lelouch recite for class.

"…The aristocracy was highly educated, with such an emphasis on edification and training, they produced a superior breed of ruler. Secondly, they possessed hightened efficiency, since only a small number of the very best were chosen from their ranks."

_It could be… maybe… I just can't tell…_

"Yes," the teacher says, "very good." Lelouch sits back down.

Kallen closes her mirror, but not before Lelouch notices.

_I only mentioned the word 'Shinjuku' to her,_ he thinks, _but…_

…_if he knows who I really am…,_ Kallen thinks simultaneously,

_…I have to…_ Lelouch thinks,

_...take him out._ Kallen finishes.

"And the research center?" Bartly asks.

"Transferred to Narita last night," comes the response.

Bartly hangs his head. He was the one chosen to ride with Clovis's body as it is transferred to it's final resting place. It's difficult being in such close confines with Clovis's remains.

_Please…forgive me Your Highness…_

"I hear it's amazing!"

"You should come with us, Kallen!"

Lelouch is packing up to leave. Shirly walks up to him.

"Hey, Lulu," she says brightly, "want to go out after—"

"Sorry, maybe tommorow." He cuts her off. She looks at him in disbelief. He didn't even listen to her.

Lelouch walks over to Kallen. "Would you come with me? I'd like to talk to you."

It shocks everyone in the classroom. Especially Shirly.

Kallen stands up. "Great. I thought you might have something you wanted to talk to me about," she says with very well disguised coolness. The tension in the room escalates, and not all for the same reasons. The other girls (and Shirly) are practically squealing with all the intrigue that was unfolding.

Knightmares turn on one another. Half of the Prince's escort shoot the other half. The remaining half surrounds the truck itself.

"Does this prove how determined we are?" one of the pilots asks the other passenger of the now-stationary truck.

Bartly cowers in a corner. "I'm telling you I—"

A Knightmare rips through the roof, peeling back the steel. "Don't remember?" the pilot asks sarcastically. "You still spout that ridiculous nonsense?"

"But, it—it's the truth! Ask anyone, they'll back me up too!"

The cockpit opens and the pilot is revealed to be Jeremiah. He keeps his weapons on Bartly, though.

"You care for no one but yourself!" Jeremiah spits, "It disgusts me! I will not allow you to stay by His Highness's side for even a moment longer!"

"I didn't realize there was anything like this at school…"

"It's the student council clubhouse." Lelouch informs Kallen. "It's got a nice big open area, so we can hold dances and such."

"The nobody will come here?" she asks.

The are standing in front of one of the huge stained glass windows of the clubhouse, on a balcony overlooking the ballroom.

"That's right," Lelouch responds.

"I found it!" comes a triumphant voice.

The both turn to see Shirly digging through a drawer on the opposing balcony. "I found it! I found it!" She holds up a small chip.

The dark green haired girl comes into view. "That's it! That's the lab data!"

Rivalz's head rises above the balcony wall. "Thank God; my ass hurts!"

The elevator doors open to reveal the president—Milly—appears wearing an apron and pushing a cart full of food. "There you guys are! I'm done, so let's start."

"Oh, wow!" Shirly exclames, "Very nice Milly!"

"Yes, let your praise wash over me!" she replies as she sets down the succulent looking dishes.

"Um…" Lelouch asks, puzzled, "What's this?"

"Isn't this why you brought her here?" Milly asks Lelouch, confused, motioning to Kallen, "We're bringing Kallen into the student council!"

She looked at Lelouch and Kallen, and, noticing their still confused faces, explained. "I asked my grandfather…"

"The Chairman?" Lelouch clarifies.

"—no Lelouch, the TV channel CEO," she replies sarcastically, "of course the Chairman—I told him about her fragile health and how normal club activities would be hard for her. Oh! Yeah!" she remembered, then turned to Kallen, "I'm Milly, the student council president. It's nice to meet you!"

"Oh! Nice to meet you, too." Kallen replies, bowing.

The others came running up.

"I'm Rivalz, the treasurer. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

"I'm Shirly. I'm also on the swim team, and I hold a couple different positions. Nice to meet you!"

"Um…I'm…" the girl with dark green hair says quietly, "…I'm Nina."

Kallen bows to each of them in turn. "It's nice to meet all of you."

Rivalz takes out a bottle of champagne. "Alright! Let's start with a toast!"

Nina looks up. "We shouldn't…we're student council members…"

"Come on, don't be such a spoilsport!" Rivalz calls as he thumbs the cork. Everyone takes a step back.

"There's no way!..." Shirly tries to grab the bottle away from him before he can open it.

"Hey, Lelouch!" Rivalz calls, dodging under Shirly's arm, "Catch!"

He tosses the bottle to Lelouch, who takes it and looks at it quizzically before Shirly runs over and tries to wrestle it out of his hand.

"Lelouch, you can't drink!"

Shirly falls on top of Lelouch, the champagne cork flies out, propelled by a jet of champagne, heading right for Kallen, and at the last moment she swats it out of the air. A stream of champagne falls right into her hair to top off the ridiculously comical picture.

Rivalz, Milly, and Nina are left blinking.

"What just happened…?" Rivalz asks.

_This is why I hate Britannia._ Kallen thinks as she stands under the hot shower.

There's a knock on the door.

"It's Lelouch." He says from the other side. "I've brought you your change of clothes."

"It's fine," Kallen replies, "I'll close the curtain."

As he walks in he starts with surprise. Kallen's silhouette is visible against the curtain, highlighting her curves. He gathers himself and keeps walking. "I'm sorry they're so boisterous."

"That's alright," she says. "I like respites like that."

"Are you okay with just wearing any clothes we could find?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine. That was pretty fast. Didn't you have to run all the way to the boys dorms?"

"Actually," Lelouch replies, "I live here. I'm a friend of the family, and they insisted on giving me the best quarters, which were here, in the clubhouse."

Kallen's eyes narrow a bit. "I see."

"Well, then…" Lelouch turns to leave.

"Wait!" Kallen calls. Lelouch stops and turns. She reaches her hand out of the curtain and instructs him, "Give me my pouch over there."

"Sure." He picks it up and walks over to the edge of the curtain. Turning away so he doesn't see anything, he hands it in.

She knocks it out of his hand and grabs his wrist.

"My," Lelouch comments, "you're more aggressive than I thought."

Kallen ignored him. "Were you at Shinjuku that day?"

Lelouch looks puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb!" Kallen yells. "Why did you mention Shinjuku to me?"

"Is there something wrong with Shinjuku?"

"Don't try and answer a question with another question!" She stoops and picks up her pouch from the floor of the shower. She hits a concealed button and a knife pops out. "Answer me, yes or no." She holds the blade to a vein in his wrist. "I don't want to hear anything else out of you."

Lelouch starts when the phone, on a hanger right next to him on the wall, begins to ring.

"If I don't get that," he says, "someone will come." When there is no answer, he uses his other hand to pick up the receiver.

"Yes?" he says. "Ashford Academy Student Council."

There is a moment of silence as the person on the other end speaks.

"Well I…"

Kallen's grip on both Lelouch's wrist and her knife tightens.

Unexpectedly, Lelouch thrusts the receiver into the shower. "It's for you." Kallen's eyes widen. "He says you'll know who he is."

Kallen sets down her knife and takes the phone.

"Hello."

"I see you got out alright, Q-1." Kallen almost drops the receiver when she hears the voice from Shinjuku. She glances out at Lelouch, who is intently looking away from the curtain, his wrist still in her hand.

_It's not him!_ She thinks.

"At four p.m. tomorrow," the voice says, "come to the Tokyo Tower observation deck. Alone."

"Who are you?" she demands. "Was it you that gave the order to withdraw?"

There's a click on the other end.

"Hey! Don't hang up!" She steps forward, completing a 180 degree turn inside the shower, unwittingly pulling the phone cord taut and thus pushing the curtain back quite a bit.

"What was this order to withdraw?" Lelouch asks, reminding her of his presence. "You seem to have awfully odd friends."

"Well…" Kallen begins, trying to come up with a believable lie.

"Maybe I should play." Lelouch continues, more to himself.

"What?" Kallen asks, confused.

"That was about a game right? An MMO?"

"Uh—yeah!" Kallen says, relieved that he gave her an alibi so she didn't have to think of one. "I've been shut up at home for so long, you see…" she let go of Lelouch's wrist.

"I told you not to mention Shinjuku because some people believe…" he trailed off. "By the way, I can see…"

For the first time she looked around and noticed that the curtain had been pulled back. She gasped and pulled it closed and huddled down in a concealing ball.

"And, umm," Lelouch says, "I won't tell anyone. About the game, that is." He turns to leave. "Well, see you later."

The door closes.

_I was wrong._ Kallen thinks to herself.

When he gets back to his room, Lelouch takes the digital recorder from the woman dressed like a maid—his only servant, staff, and bodyguard, Syako.

"I see you got out alright, Q-1," his voice from the recording plays.

He stopped it.

The red light fades from behind Syako's eyes and she awakes to find herself standing in an empty room.

When Lelouch turns on the TV that night, he is unprepared for what the news shows.

Suzaku is being wrestled into a military van in handcuffs.

"Prince Clovis was killed in Shinjuku two days ago…" the announcer says. Lelouch doesn't hear the rest. His eyes are wide.

_But…wait…I __didn't__ kill Clovis! I—who did it? Who ruined my plan?_ Lelouch thinks.

He does catch the next bit, answering his own question.

"A suspect has been arrested. According to our sources, the believed assassin was Honorary Britannian Suzaku Kururugi!"

Lelouch knew better. Suzaku would never do that, they just needed a scapegoat. But who would do this? Who? And why would they pin it on Suzaku.

_What the hell is going on?_


End file.
